Little fighter Hassan defies cerebral palsy to become kickboxer

Eleven-year-old Hassan has cerebral palsy and needs to use a frame – but that hasn't stopped him from becoming a successful kickboxer, having just earned his second grading.

And the Palfrey Junior School pupil has his sights set on a black belt one day, as he continues to defy medical predictions and gets stronger and stronger.

"I like the fighting. It makes me feel happy," Hassan tells the Express & Star.

"I feel more independent doing it.

"It makes me feel excited because I can do things I couldn't do before."

And it's not only Hassan's kickboxing skills that have impressed - it's his entire attitude.

"He is just so determined," says a proud Wayne, who runs Haskett's Kickboxing in Holt Hill Lane, Walsall.

"When he first came here, his sister had to hold his frame to stop him falling over but now, after 12 months, he can do stuff without people holding him."

Hassan, of Walstead Road, Delves, earned his white belt in emotional scenes at the martial arts school last week.

"When he did the one-step side kick it brought tears to my eyes," beams Wayne.

"For his second grading, his mum was going to hold him but I spoke to him and he said he wanted to do it on his own, so I let him.

"There is some hard stuff on the belt but he did everything. He is just phenomenal."

"He just keeps smiling and doesn't look at his condition in a bad way. All of the other children love him to bits."

Cerebral palsy is a neurological condition that affects the brain's ability to control the muscles and doctors said Hassan would be severely limited physically. However, the plucky youngster is proving everyone wrong.

Mother Kalsoom Afzal, 41, said it was one of the best decisions of her life to let her son do kickboxing.

The mother-of-three said Hassan could not sit up unsupported until the age of three.

And she added it was not until Year 5 at school where his talking started to progress.

It was there, at Palfrey Junior School, where Hassan first encountered Wayne, who began taking an after-school club.

"After about three or four weeks of taking him, I did think whether I had made the right choice," says Kalsoom. "But then, as the weeks went by, I saw how he was progressing and I was determined to send him more.

"It is one of the best choices I have made. I have no regrets about it.

"He really looks forward to the lessons and his instructors are fantastic with him."

She added that the kickboxing helps with Hassan's daily exercises, which he has to do to manage his condition.

"It was difficult for all of us to begin with but we have all learned to live with Hassan's condition now," she says. "He does not get frustrated like you would think a lot of children his age would.

"He just gets on with it. He has been brought up as if he is no different to anyone else.

"I am hopeful that in the future he will be able to walk by himself."

Wayne said he was now going to try and get Hassan to work towards doing techniques completely unaided by his walker and did not rule out him earning a black belt one day. "When he first came, he struggled to walk and what he has achieved so far is fantastic," he says. "It would be nice for him to get a black belt.

"When it comes to Hassan, the sky is the limit." It's a sentiment echoed by the boy himself. "I feel like I've overcome a lot," says Hassan, as he shows off his moves in front of the punching bag.

"I want to be a black belt one day. I don't see a reason why not."